ABN and prosecutors could not immediately be reached to comment on the report. The Dutch bank has not taken a provision for a settlement, but analysts expect the investigation to lead to a settlement with a fine of hundreds of millions of euros.
In 2018, Dutch bank ING was hit with a USD 900 million fine for similar charges. Prosecutors are still weighing whether to bring charges against former ING Chief Executive Ralph Hamers over the 2018 case. FD report said prosecutors were considering whether to expand the ABN probe to include any former ABN managers, such as Gerrit Zalm. Mr. Zalm is not only the bank’s former CEO, but also a former finance minister of the Netherlands.
After ING’s fine, ABN said it had spent around EUR 400 million euros to improve its capability to detect financial crimes. In August 2020, the bank had dedicated more than 3,000 employees to anti-money laundering activities, taking its total staff up to more than 19,000.
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